Goodness Grows News

Newsletter #49

Zucchini, beans, herbs, beets, cucumbers, and much more have been filling our harvest bins and CSA shares. Soon...maybe next week...tomatoes will start being picked. (Yay! Everyone loves fresh picked tomato season.) After that, the peppers will be ready and then, before we know it, it'll be time for squash, pumpkins, and the end of CSA season. Summer is truly flying by! All of us at GG hope you're enjoying it as much as we are!

All summer - through hot weather, chilly weather, sunny weather, and rainy weather - our crew is busy taking care of crops around the property. They might be sowing seeds in the greenhouse, weeding berry bushes in the hoop house, harvesting raised beds, or watering in the fields. The task doesn't matter. These folks put their whole hearts into whatever they are doing, working hard to accomplish whatever is asked of them, and finding the fun in every day.

This month, we happily enjoyed a good old fashioned cook out. We fired up the grill and Cameron flame-broiled some fabulous hot dogs and hamburgers. Mrs. Weaver came to join us for the afternoon. We had all the fixings for a festive picnic. It was a pure summer pleasure to eat outside, slow down, enjoy each other's company, and take time for silly pictures and a rousing game of broom ball!

We are so very glad that we are able to have groups come visit again! In July, we were beyond thrilled to have two service days. Common Ground's Youth Group spent one morning working on our wood's trail. They will return in August to, hopefully, complete this summer-long project. Then, we enjoyed a morning working with our old friend Lisa Velker and her Youth Group from Western Reserve United Methodist Church. This fantastic group took a tour, worked hard on the path, and then had lunch and popsicles with us.

If you know of a group that might like to come spend time working on projects with us, please send them our way. We love and appreciate volunteers and we appreciate the chance to tell others about our mission and all we do here in North Lima!

If you're in need of jam, we have some ready for you! Look for us on August 7 at the next Block Party in Columbiana, from 1-4pm and on August 14 at the Youngstown Flea, from 9am-3pm.

We always have some jam at Goodness Grows for purchase.

Give us a call at 330-549-9408, contact us online to arrange a

pick-up/delivery, or stop by Reach for the STARS in Salem.

​Current Flavors at Goodness Grows:

Jungle Jam: Blueberry Jalapeno, Strawberry Jalapeno, Hot, Cherry Habanero

Juicy Jam: Strawberry Lemonade, Blueberry Lemonade

Jungle Jams contain hot peppers - jalapeno, habanero, or both.

Juicy Jams are our limited special fruit jam - no peppers here!
(If you return an 8oz. jam jar, you get $1 off the purchase of a new 8oz. jam!)

The 2021 CSA season has almost reached the halfway point. We have done second and third plantings, to be harvested as the end of the season approaches. Unbelievably, we have even begun planning for CSA 2022! (Subscription information will go out in winter 2022, if you're interested.) Thanks to an incredibly generous donation from our friend Barb and the Liberty Wal-Mart, we have almost all the seeds we'll need for next year! The last three weeks have been an adventure in sorting, organizing, and learning about all kinds of seeds. It has been such a fun experience for all of us!

This Sunday, August 1, 2021 Common Ground and Connecting Life are having a "Mission Sunday" for Goodness Grows...and YOU are invited! Join us at 11:00am at Common Ground (2310 W. South Range Rd., North Lima) or on Facebook Live. We will share the service on our Goodness Grows Facebook page. Our GG Board President, Kitty Kromer, will explain just what Goodness Grows actually does and how our program impacts lives. She'll also let you know how you can be a part of keeping our mission growing strong. You'll even get to see a short video of a few of our GG crew telling what their favorite tasks are here as well as plenty of photos.

1. Online Shopping! ~ If you shop Amazon, you can support GG for free at the same time! You get your items and we get 0.5% of the purchase price through this program! Check it out online at smile.amazon.com and select Goodness Grows as your charity of choice.

2. Volunteering! ~ Give of your time and get back lots of love & smiles!

3. Donating Items! ~ We are always in need of basic jam making supplies such as regular 8oz. canning jars, lids, sugar, and white vinegar.

4. Purchasing Our Products! ~ Proceeds from jam, CSA subscriptions, & crafts go right back to our programs.

5. Charitable Giving! ~ As a small non-profit, Goodness Grows depends upon generous supporters who give monetarily. A contribution to Goodness Grows is tax-deductible, to the extent allowed by law. Your donations help us to continue our mission of working with people of all abilities.

There is good work being done right here and we would love for you to be a part of it!

Did you know? We get paid by the state, through the Department of Developmental Disabilities, for providing a vocational habilitation program for adults (our clients), working on life skills and job skills. Those clients spend time here working on tasks inside and outside of the building, and all over the property. If you see a flower, they probably planted it. Notice a clean floor in the Café? They mopped it. Have you celebrated Communion at Common Ground? The clients probably baked the bread! For all the work they do here, the clients earn a well-deserved paycheck. But, the money from the state cannot be used to pay them. It can be used to pay staff, buy supplies, purchase food for cooking projects, upgrade equipment, etc. We must raise the money for client paychecks through product sales (our jams, CSA, cat toys, crafts) or through monetary donations. That means that every dollar we get in sales and donations is incredibly important. Every financial supporter plays a pivotal role in keeping our doors open, our clients employed, and goodness growing! We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your support!

You're always welcome to stop in to see what we're up to, Monday-Friday from 9am-2pm. Volunteers are tremendously appreciated! If you like to spend time in nature and feel the satisfaction of working in the soil, come see us! During the growing season, we are always in need of people to weed and we often have other projects to work on as well.

Goodness Grows is a 501(c)3 non-profit operating out of Common Ground Church Community. Our mission is to cultivate personal, social, and community growth through gardening, education, and opportunity for people of all abilities. We are working to improve people's lives through social and therapeutic gardening practices. We'd love for you to join us!

Create. Cultivate. Thrive.

Email: jlynch02@gmail.com
Website: https://www.goodnessgrows4all.org/
Location: 2310 W. South Range Rd., North Lima, OH 44452
Phone: 330-549-9408
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodnessGrows4all